


Teapot

by Sharcade



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Depression, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Hugs, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Jokes, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Party, Polyamory, References to Depression, Tea, Tea Parties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 11:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15605190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: In which Alice has a tea party for the very first time.





	Teapot

"Like this?"

"No, up like this." Alice corrected, adjusting Connor's pinkie finger. "It goes up when you drink."

"So like this?" Connor offered, extending his pinkie and taking a sip of his tea.

"Exactly. Perfect."

Connor looked around, taking in the scenery that surrounded them. The garden was absolutely stunning, it was the ever-recognizable garden of Carl Manfred. He imagined Alice had chosen the location herself, and he also imagined he would probably enjoy it a lot more from a vantage point that wasn't his tiny plastic pink chair. That being said, when he had received Alice's invitation to her tea party, scrawled in crayon, he had been elated. He had never been invited to anything before, and he had been looking forward to this for two weeks now.

"Kara made the tea," Alice explained, refilling her tiny teacup. "I'm not allowed to use any of the hot things in the kitchen."

"Ah. Neither am I."

"This is really a fantastic garden," Kara commented as she approached the table, taking her seat with a smile. "Did you thank Carl for letting you use it?"

Alice nodded quickly, filling Kara's teacup as she did. Connor had been a little early, a habit he had grown accustomed to recently, but he assumed most androids would be arriving exactly on time. Connor only had a vague idea of who had been invited. He knew that Markus would be here, the two had discussed it, and he assumed that Markus would be bringing Simon, but that was the extent of what he knew.

"So Connor," Kara started, glancing up to meet his eyes. "What are you up to these days?"

"I'm still performing my duties for the DPD," he explained, pausing to sip all of the tea out of his tiny ceramic teacup. "Fowler gave me the option to return to the force and I decided it would be the best decision. I'm living on Lieutenant Anderson's couch for the time being."

"Is it fun being a cop?" Alice asked, refilling Connor's teacup promptly.

"Sometimes."

"Like when?"

"One time I chased an android at a full sprint across several rooftops."

"That sounds _awesome._ "

"We jumped onto the roof of a moving train."

_"That sounds so awesome."_

"It was decidedly awesome."

"I wanna jump onto the roof of a moving train!"

"Hey, look at that, Markus is here!" Kara interrupted frantically, jumping to her feet and shooting Connor a quick look.

"It's super awesome," Connor whispered, leaning closer to Alice as she snickered.

"I hope we're not late," Simon began, Markus chuckling quietly as they approached Alice's tiny plastic table. "We brought cookies."

"Consider it thanks for inviting us," Markus added, setting the plate down in the middle of the table. "This is bound to be a great tea party, Alice."

"Thanks for coming!" Alice replied quickly, standing up and shaking Markus' hand. "And also thanks for the cookies."

"Simon, Markus, nice to see you again." Connor greeted, offering a nod to both as they took their seats.

Admittedly, Connor had never seen Markus in anything but long, imposing coats. It was his signature. Today, Markus was dressed in a way that Connor had to admit made the deviant leader look much less intimidating. He looked casual, he looked relaxed, and it was a nice look for him. A simple pale blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black dress pants. It was a simple look.

Simon was wearing something similar, black dress pants and a dress shirt in a darker tone of blue with the sleeves still down. They complimented each other well, and Connor couldn't help but smile slightly looking between them. Simon and Markus had begun their relationship not long after the revolution, and at the time, Connor hadn't been happy about it. It was a feeling he couldn't really explain, a feeling of urgent jealousy despite not being interested in either man. It took him some time to realize his real concern was two of his new closest friends forgetting about him. Markus had seemed to catch on to Connor's worries as well, and the talk that had occurred over it had been long and emotional. Nowadays, Connor was happy for them, he was happy that they were happy. He knew he wasn't going to be left behind.

"Here, have some tea, sirs." Alice chimed, filling the duo's teacups dutifully.

"Why thank you, madam." Markus chuckled, lifting his tiny teacup and taking a sip. "Your tea is lovely."

Alice giggled quietly, Markus snickering along with her. Something about how fancy everything was almost seemed comical, like it was more of a game than a real party. In a sense, Connor imagined it was. They had all gotten dressed up, come all the way out to this extravagant garden, and were now gathered around a tiny pink table sipping tea from their tiny pink chairs. Something about the image made it hard to take seriously.

"Kara, you look great." Simon complimented, Kara smoothing out her dress neatly in response.

"Thank you!" she beamed. "You both look fantastic."

Connor watched as Kara sat back down. He had known Kara officially for about as long as he'd known Markus and Simon, though Kara had been a little more wary of him at first. Kara's objective would always be to keep Alice safe, and knowing that at one time Connor had threatened that made her skeptic of him. Connor understood, even if the situation had been a little painful at first, he knew where she was coming from. Over time he had proven himself, and though their relationship had bloomed slowly, it had still bloomed. It had certainly helped that Alice had taken a liking to Connor, seeing him as a sort of uncle. It meant Connor was over at their house fairly often, and it meant that Kara had been forced to see Connor in a new light.

Connor sipped his tea.

"Dammit, they made it here before us!" North groaned, dropping her head against Josh's shoulder.

"It wasn't a race." Markus reminded, his expression showing that he had likely had to remind her of this multiple times now. "We just took two cars."

"Thanks for coming," Alice greeted, standing up to shake North's hand. "I'm sorry that you lost the race."

_"It wasn't a race."_

"Does that mean we won the race-?" Simon questioned under his breath.

"Simon. _There was no race._ " Markus insisted, North and Josh promptly taking their seats at the table.

Connor watched quietly as Alice poured tea for their two new guests, the androids of the table all chatting amongst themselves. North had been an interesting person to meet. She hadn't trusted him, not even slightly, and the tension had been palpable. Connor had stayed in Jericho for a very brief period, simply doing so because he had nowhere else to stay yet and Markus had offered the location to him. North had been hostile the entire time, snapping at him for the smallest of slip-ups and insisting feverishly that he had _no place in Jericho_.

It hadn't bothered Connor. Or at least, he hadn't shown that he was bothered. In truth, each of her biting words felt like a lash on his skin. He was aware of his past, he was aware of what he was made to do, but it was difficult knowing that he had changed when nobody else could truly see it. North had insisted to Markus that Connor could snap back at any moment, that he wasn't safe to be around. Connor had kept a straight face, remaining stoic and quiet as North had degraded and insulted him day after day. His plan was simply to endure it until he could find somewhere else to stay. That hadn't worked out.

He remembered the night he had spent sitting alone by one of Jericho's many barrel fires, sitting atop a small stack of boxes and just _thinking_. Being alone with his thoughts had been dangerous lately, North's words often weighing heavy on his mind when he didn't want them to. He had been alone with those very thoughts when North had spotted him sitting there. She, of course, had approached him, griping about how she didn't trust him to wander off alone in Jericho. It hadn't been much, but it had been the straw to break the camel's back, and for the first time since deviating, Connor had cried.

He hadn't even realized that he was crying, it was a sensation he wasn't used to, but he and North had both seemed to catch on at the same time. Instantly, North's expression flooded with one of guilt, only a few hints of scepticism showing through it. Connor had wiped his tears away quickly, his shoulders trembling slightly as he tried to compose himself. North had simply stood there, battling her empathy until it finally broke through and she had given in. North had sat there with him for _hours_ , letting him cry as he vented, letting him cry as he explained that he just wanted to be able to move on like everybody else could. It had made North feel guilty. It had made North trust him.

Connor sipped his tea as he glanced around the table, nobody in particular was talking to him which granted him the right to be quiet. Most of these androids had known each other for a long time, with Connor being more of the outsider of the group. Not that he wasn't cared for and respected, he just tended not to break off into any specific pairs or groups. Others had all found their families, and while Connor had found a father figure, he was human. Connor loved him, his species wasn't important in that regard, but everybody else had found an _android_ family. Connor simply wasn't part of that.

"Connor," Markus started, startling the android out of his thoughts. "I think that's the first time I've seen you outside of your uniform since the raid."

"I thought it inappropriate for the occasion," Connor replied curtly, setting his teacup down. "I was unsure of what to wear so I let Alice select my clothing."

Alice had been overjoyed when Connor had made that request. She and Connor got along well, and any excuse to spend time with Connor would be fun in her books. Not only that, but the fun of picking an outfit for him just couldn't be turned down. She had spent a long time deliberating, finally deciding on something a little more colourful than Connor was used to. It was a floral dress shirt and white dress pants, a look that Connor wasn't used to even slightly. He had neatened it up a bit, adding a matching white suit jacket and tucking in his dress shirt to make the look more his own, and it had come out quite nicely in the end.

"Did I do a good job?" Alice questioned, reaching up to straighten out Connor's hair slightly.

"He looks great." Simon chuckled, sipping his tea.

"It's good to see you again Connor, it's been a while." Josh began, offering a small smile. "How have you been?"

"I've been fairly busy with work lately," Connor explained, setting his teacup down. "I'm sorry that we haven't been able to interact more."

That was partially true. Connor had been busy with work, he always was, but as of late he simply found that he didn't have the energy to visit any of his new friends. He would want to, he would miss them, but a nagging sensation at the back of his head always had him second guessing whether or not they would actually want to see him anyway. He knew they didn't hate him, they had made it fairly clear that they didn't hate him, but he wondered sometimes if anybody would notice if he just never visited or called again. He wondered if he would simply fade out of their minds if he didn't constantly make himself present. He wondered if they would miss him.

"It's nice to finally talk to you again," Kara agreed, allowing Alice to refill her teacup. "Alice talks about you all the time, it's nice when we can actually get together."

"I talk about Connor because Connor is super cool."

"Mood," Markus muttered, sipping his tea.

"Alice is always mood." North added, clinking teacups quietly with Alice.

"Connor jumped onto a moving train!" Alice continued, refilling her tea. "That's like the coolest thing ever!"

A few jaws seemed to drop, Simon's in horror and North's in awe. Markus' eyebrows shot up, the deviant leader eyeing Connor as the detective chuckled quietly.

"You seriously jumped onto a fucking _moving train?"_

"Language, North." Josh chided, sipping his tea. "There's kids."

"Only one kid and she's already badass, she can swear."

"No she can't." Kara corrected quickly.

"I could if I wanted to."

_"No you couldn't."_

"This is so sad, Alice say fuck."

"North-!"

Connor chuckled quietly as the group bickered, Markus glancing over at the detective and offering a small smile.

"Anyway, that moving train?" he offered, setting his teacup down.

"Right, the train." Connor began. "It was during the deviant investigation. Lieutenant Anderson instructed me to pursue a deviant and I was required to chase it across several rooftops."

Markus nodded, Simon resting his head on Markus' shoulder as the two listened to Connor talk. Alice scooted closer, North and Kara's argument quieting slightly as North found a new interest in Connor's story.

"I had to slide down the roof of a greenhouse as well," Connor continued. " _Then_ I jumped on a moving train. I had to jump off soon after, however, as the deviant escaped on a passing ladder."

"So you jumped onto a moving train and then _grabbed a passing ladder?"_ North mumbled, dumbfounded.

"For the sake of my investigation, yes."

"Holy shit dude. You would be wild at tag."

"Sorry I'm late!"

Connor perked up, his attention darting towards the garden's gate as another android entered. Chloe. She was dressed fairly nicely, a floral pink sundress and decently large sunhat with a pink bag to match. Chloe. Connor had known Chloe longer than he had known any of the other androids, though their first meeting had been a little tense, what with him holding a gun to her head and all. She had been one of the first androids to contact him after the revolution, thanking him for sparing her, thanking him for helping to free their people. Chloe.

"My taxi malfunctioned and I had to find a new one," Chloe explained, taking her seat at the table and smiling brightly. "Thank you for inviting me, I've never been to a party before."

"There, we're finally balanced out with the boys." North noted, sipping her tea.

"Connor, good to see you again!" Chloe greeted, quickly shaking Connor's hand.

Chloe could be considered a friend, Connor believed. She was kind, she was energetic, she cared about him and enjoyed spending time with him. The two would often discuss their pasts, Chloe was one of the only people who really understood how he felt about things like CyberLife and his job and it was relieving to have somebody around who could listen to him in quite that way. Chloe was somebody important to him, he wondered at all if he was important to her. He wondered at all if he was important to anybody.

The party lasted a surprisingly long time. If this had been a party of humans, everybody likely wouldn't have been able to last as long in the horribly uncomfortable tiny plastic chairs, but it was an android party, so it had kept going for a few hours. Connor had done his best to relax a little, joining the idle conversation in an attempt to get out of his own head. He was having fun, really, it was just hard sometimes to focus on the present. It was hard sometimes to ignore his own thoughts. It was hard sometimes to accept that he was welcome amongst his friends.

When things had finally pulled to a close, North and Josh had been the first to leave, North noting that she wanted to get a head start on Markus and Simon so they could win the race back to Jericho. Markus had been insistent that there was no race, but Chloe had been shocked to learn that a race was happening. She had left in a hurry to make up for lost time, despite the fact that she wasn't even headed for Jericho in the first place. Kara had gone inside to clean up the plates and teacups, Alice following to assist. It had left Simon, Markus and Connor all still sitting at the children's table, the sky beginning to darken as the sun began to set. Lights lit up in the garden, dimly illuminating the scenery. Things were quiet.

"Connor," Markus started, his voice breaking the silence as Connor perked to attention. "How have you been feeling lately?"

"I've been alright," Connor replied, folding his hands neatly in his lap. "Things have been good lately, I've resumed my work and have proven to still be deft in my field."

"We haven't seen you in a while," Simon continued, gently interlocking his fingers with Markus'. "You haven't come around much."

"I've been busy with work," Connor explained, biting his tongue as he held back the flood of truths that he desperately wanted to share. "I apologize."

"Connor, we're worried about you," Markus admitted, Simon nodding quickly. "Are you okay?"

"My systems are running at optimal-"

"No, no, that's not- _Connor_." Markus interrupted. "Are _you_ okay? Not your systems, not your biocomponents, _you._ Are you feeling okay?"

Connor was quiet, the gentle sounds of the garden the only thing keeping him grounded. He was fine, right? He had been feeling fine, why shouldn't he feel fine? He had a fantastic job, he lived in a decent home with somebody he cared about more than the world itself, somebody who cared about him, how could things be bad? What did he have to be so upset about? Connor furrowed his brow slightly in thought. If things were so perfect, why was he doubting his own answer?

"I'm...I'm fine," Connor assured, finding himself unable to meet Markus' eyes. "I'm alright."

"Connor, it's okay if you're not fine." Simon added quietly, squeezing Markus' hand gently.

_It's okay if you're not fine._

"I'm uncertain." Connor blurted, his LED flickering lightly with yellow as he tried to phrase his thoughts into words. "I'm...I'm not sure of where I stand."

"What do you mean?" Markus asked, keeping his voice calm and reassuring in a way that Connor appreciated. 

"Well, it's-" Connor paused, fumbling over his own words slightly. "You two and North and Josh, you all have each other, right?"

"Of course."

"Kara and Luther and Alice all have each other."

"Right."

"A-And then there's...me." Connor finished quietly. "Just me."

"I thought you lived with Hank."

"I do, I do, and I care about Hank very much." Connor assured. "But Hank's not- Hank's not a friend, Hank is family, Hank is different. Hank is human."

"So you're concerned with the fact that you don't seem to fit in amongst your own people." Markus mused, furrowing his brow.

"We fought so hard to fit in," Connor explained hesitantly. "So it's unfortunate to...still not be able to get there. I-It's unfortunate to be left behind."

"So what is it that you really want?"

"I..." Connor hesitated, the quiet noises of the garden barely audible as his heart pounded in his ears. "I want to feel wanted."

"Connor, you know how much we care about you."

"But I  _don't_." Connor insisted, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "I don't, I want to but I  _don't_. Everybody is so connected to each other, everybody has their family and none of it involves  _me_ , I-I'm just- I'm not meant to be a part of this."

Simon and Markus glanced between each other, sharing a look before turning back to Connor. Connor could feel his chest tightening, emotions were strange like that, it always surprised him that getting this emotional could truly hurt, that hurting this badly could truly cause pain. He wanted to feel okay. He needed to feel okay.

"Actually, Connor," Markus started, exchanging another look with Simon. "There was...something we wanted to ask you today. That's why we haven't left yet."

"Connor, Simon and I have been-" Markus paused, collecting his words slightly. "We've been thinking about you a lot lately."

Simon nodded, nervously fiddling with Markus' fingers as the deviant leader spoke.

"You're...You're smart, you're talented, you're interesting, you're just  _special._ " Markus continued, locking eyes with Connor. "We want you to be-"

"We want you to be part of this." Simon finished, placing his hand over Markus'. "You  _are_ wanted. We want you."

Connor was stunned for a moment, his mouth hanging slightly open as his mind worked to catch up with his ears.

"You- You want me in your  _relationship?_ "

The two nodded.

"You want me?"

"We want you."

"I...I-I'd like that." Connor replied, chuckling lightly as tears jumped to his eyes. "I'd like that very much."

Simon smiled brightly, Markus gently draping an arm over Connor's shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. Warm. Markus was warm, Markus understood how he felt, Markus wanted him to feel better, Markus wanted  _him._ Markus and Simon had stayed late just to see if he was alright, Markus and Simon had stayed late to welcome him into their lives, Markus and Simon thought he was special and smart and really just going over the words in his own head was making Connor blush. He was wanted.

"Gay mood!" Alice called loudly from the balcony, Kara hurrying to usher her back inside as Simon chuckled quietly.

"You're wanted, Connor." he added gently, reaching over to take Connor's hand. "You're wanted."


End file.
